RESOURCE LIBRARY

A Guide to Emotional and Behavioural Strengths and Challenges

Mental Wellness in Adults with Down Syndrome is an upbeat, thoroughly readable guide.

It provides parents, mental health professionals, teachers, and caregivers the keys to understanding how to promote mental wellness and resolve psycho-social problems in people with Down syndrome.

This booklet contains information about Down syndrome and has been developed for people with Down syndrome.

Drs. Chicoine and McGuire provide families, caregivers, and medical professionals invaluable insight into the more common health problems of their patients, and how medical issues can present uniquely in people with Down syndrome. In a clear, empathetic style, they discuss how to promote a healthy lifestyle to prevent problems, and how to recognise health problems early on to ensure appropriate care for the best outcome.

This film tells the story of Andrew, who had Down syndrome and dementia. It powerfully illustrates not just a sister’s dedication to her brother, but also a gold standard of dementia care for someone with Down syndrome.

This DVD is a medical symposium from 2003 about adults with Down Syndrome.

This publication was produced by the Down Syndrome Society of South Australia. Topics covered include rights, physical and medical characteristics, speech, language, behaviour, specific learning difficulties, occupational health and safety, social skills, sexuality and human relationships.

It is argued that the goals for children with Down syndrome should be age-appropriate and therefore many of the goals should be the same as for other children. The child with Down syndrome may not achieve quite the same levels of competence in each area. This age period begins with settling into full-time school. It is the start of increasing independence from family and moving away from the high levels of individual support that preschool children receive, to being able to be part of a group and to cope in the larger social world of the school and community.

There is consistent evidence that children with Down syndrome gain significantly from full inclusion in mainstream schools. They show significant gains in spoken language, reading, writing and arithmetic. These gains will enhance their adult lives; especially the ability to communicate more effectively. However, the special educational needs of the children should be met wherever they are receiving their education and the key needs and appropriate adaptations for teaching and learning are described. Children with Down syndrome will benefit from a partnership between parents, teachers and therapists and specific goals provided for them.

Advocacy by and for adults with Down syndrome is based on the belief that all citizens have the same rights and responsibilities and potential for growth. It is recognised that there is a need to combat the exclusion and discrimination experienced by adults with Down syndrome through enabling them to access their human and legal rights. This publication seeks to define advocacy, explore its origins and describe the various forms of advocacy that are on offer.

This book deals with the issues that face families as their members grow older and the consequent adjustments that families make as they adapt to the changes in the individuals who comprise their family.

This book describes the value of inclusive post-secondary education, the responsiveness of tertiary institutions and the difference this makes to the lives of individuals with Down syndrome. Today, students with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities are being fully included in universities, colleges and technical institutes. They attend regular classes in a wide variety of courses and faculties, make friends, belong to clubs and participate in the informal and formal social life of these tertiary education institutions and go on to be successfully employed. This book describes the value of inclusive post-secondary education, the responsiveness of tertiary institutions and the difference this opportunity has made to the lives of many individuals with Down syndrome.

This book presents a basic introduction to the value of artistic activity for all people. It presents a brief introduction to different kinds of artistic expression and then focuses on drama and theatre experience.

Attention to spiritual well-being is as important as care for the emotional, intellectual, physical and social aspects of life. This book is based on the concept of spiritual well-being as an integral, essential part of the everyday life of the whole person; it is not an optional extra, a fairy tale, an academic extra or a nuisance.

This book is written to enable the participation of individuals with Down syndrome in recreation activities. It includes information that will help in the planning and implementation of individualised lifestyles. Examples of recreational activities are provided that may contribute to the reader’s resources. Activity analysis is described in detail and includes a sample analysis so that the reader can see how to apply the concepts to a recreational activity.

This book discusses community and independent living for adults with Down syndrome. In many ways it follows on and links to a previous book in this series, Families of adults with Down syndrome. It describes the ways adults have moved from family home to community residential living, and in so doing discusses the development of an independent home life intergrated with the local community. We have provided examples of people, who vary in their ability levels, along with the successes and challenges they have faced. This book provides some suggestions for consideration by parents and professionals. It also looks at the professional training required for frontline personnel, along with the types of behaviours that parents might look for in considering an individual’s placement in the community.

Cultural influences impact on all our lives and this is no less true for people with Down syndrome. This publication describes various cultural responses to disability, looking at families and individuals with Down syndrome from a cross-cultural perspective and how best they can be supported, and examining the form and functions of service systems that are culturally sensitive and appropriate.

This publication takes a lifespan perspective, and considers how experiences in the past and in the present will impact on choices, opportunities and development in the future. It shows how all aspects of the individual’s life are linked together and that changes in one area may have an effect in another.

This book is concerned with vocational employment of teenagers and adults with Down syndrome. It is paricularly concerned with the transition period from school to work, and looks at the possibilities that are now available in many parts of the world. Importantly it describes the practical steps that are required to encourage success.

The checklist should be completed and retained by parents as they will have the most complete knowledge of their child’s communication skills. Some parents will welcome the help of a teacher or speech and language therapist as the checklist is also to be used to plan language teaching activities. The list is intended to be used as a supplement to the speech and language modules in the Down Syndrome Issues and Information Series. The information in these modules should be read before completing this checklist or starting a speech and language programme with your child. This checklist is part of a set of checklists covering all aspects of speech, language and communciation skills. In addition to 3 vocabulaary checklists there are checklists for interactive communication and play, speech sounds, and sentences and grammar. This checklist should be used in conjunction with the other checklists as all aspects of communication skills should always be considered in parallel.

The checklist should be completed and retained by parents as they will have the most complete knowledge of their child’s communication skills. Some parents will welcome the help of a teacher or speech and language therapist as the checklist is also to be used to plan language teaching activities. The list is intended to be used as a supplement to the speech and language modules in the Down Syndrome Issues and Information Series. The information in these modules should be read before completing this checklist or starting a speech and language programme with your child. This checklist is part of a set of checklists covering all aspects of speech, language and communciation skills. In addition to 3 vocabulaary checklists there are checklists for interactive communication and play, speech sounds, and sentences and grammar. This checklist should be used in conjunction with the other checklists as all aspects of communication skills should always be considered in parallel.

Children with Down syndrome usually have considerable difficulty with speech sound production and delay in being able to say initial sounds will lead to delay in saying first words. Sound production can be encouraged from the babble stage in the first year of life and speech sounds can be specifically practised from 18 months of age or earlier. Speech sound work is often neglected in therapy programmes in favour of language work, that is, learning to understand words and to communicate. The language work is equally important – speech and language work should be given equal weight at all times. This checklist contains two lists, the 44 single speech sounds (phonemes) that English speaking children master and the more difficult clusters and blends that are used in English. The clusters are often not fully mastered until 6 years of age in typically developing children and later for children with Down syndrome, sometimes not until teenage years. The importance of speech sound work for children with Down syndrome cannot be over-emphasised – research shows that it is effective. At present, the majority of adolescents and adults are difficult to understand because of poor speech clarity and this affects their social lives and opportunities.